Sirmaur police tighten grip over illicit traders in interior areas

Ambika Sharma
Tribune News Service
Solan, May 24 

The Sirmaur police have launched a special campaign to destroy semi-distilled liquor and illegal opium cultivation underway in the interior areas of the district, which were proliferating in the lockdown.

Sirmaur SP Ajay Krishan Sharma said as per the state government’s policy of zero-tolerance against drugs, such illicit traders were being brought to book.

In the latest case one Yashwant Singh, a resident of Jamnaghat in Paonta Sahib sub-division, was found brewing semi-distilled liquor in the Jamnighat Dida and Dida Khala forest area by a police team on Sunday, while his accomplice Jasbir Singh managed to flee. About 20-litre semi distilled liquor had been brewed while another 200 litres found in the drums there was destroyed. Besides this 1,000 litres, semi-distilled liquor at two more places was also destroyed last evening informed SP, Sirmaur, Ajay Krishan Sharma.

In another case, Raju, a resident of Chichiriya Dhar, in Rajgarh tehsil, was arrested for illegally cultivating 1.533 opium plants in the village. He is the domestic worker of a Himanshu Sood and had cultivated the opium plants on his land. A police team led by SHO Rajgarh raided the field and destroyed the plants last evening. A case under the NDPS Act has been registered against him and further probe was underway informed, Sharma.

This was not the lone case as a special investigation unit (SIU) had uprooted 11,156 fully grown plants of opium and cannabis from the fields of one Govind Singh at Dhanch Chukhdia in Rajgarh tehsil earlier this week. SP Sharma said the SIU team, after receiving a tip-off, had raided the field of Govind Singh where 522 opium plants and 468 poppy husk weighing 3.265 kg were found. All plants have been uprooted and destroyed and  Singh has been arrested. A case under the NDPS Act has been registered against him at Pajhota police station.

Sharma appealed to the people to come forward and help the police in detecting such illicit trades which can also help the youth keep away from drugs.